I Just Went To Get the Milk, Mark!
by Kassaremidybelljesslynn
Summary: This is Mark's reaction on when Roger finally left the house after Will I?. Rated b/c of Roger and Mark's major pottymouths mostly Mark's... . So, if you don't like swearing, I wouldn't suggest you read this! Minor Mimi/Roger, Roger/Mark friendship
1. I Just Went To Get Milk, Mark!

I Just Got Some Milk, Mark!

Summary: So during Will I?, Roger leaves the house for what seems to be the first time since April committed suicide. During Christmas Bells, it's obvious Roger was trying to explain to Mark what happened. This is what's in between that.

_**ROGER**_

"I'm writing one great song before I…" I sang. I sat back down. I can't do this. I can't write a song, not since…no, too much pain, don't think about her. Or her. But it was hard not to. Mimi…I pushed her away. The first person to talk to me since I stopped leaving the apartment. I'm an idiot.

_Will I lose my dignity?_ I wondered. Where the hell did that come from? I've been hanging out with Mark too much. All his, "you have to talk about your problems, let go, don't hold all that emotion in, I'm here for you," crap.

_Will someone care?_ Popped into my head. Again, where did that come from…would someone care when I went? Yes, Mark would. I know he would.

_Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare? _I thought. No, there was no waking from this nightmare, this nightmare was my life. Unless they found a cure for AIDS, which I doubt they will, this was the way I would live for the rest of my too short life. I put my head in my hands. I couldn't stand that thought. Living another few years, with this fear of touching anything in case I got sick. But then again, I couldn't just leave Mark. After Maureen dumped him, I'm all he's got. And he's all I've got since…no, don't think about that, it hurts too much. I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live.

I wondered what was happening at that Life Support meeting. That guy…girl…Angel…that Collins brought in said that it helped. I don't know. I haven't left the house in so long…and really, how many people could possibly have AIDS? I bet Collins, Angel, and I were the only ones…

"Will I lose my dignity?" I wondered aloud. I lifted my head up. "Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare?" What if something happened to Mark? No one would notice if I died. I'd die in this hellhole and the only reason someone would find me would be because stupid Benny wanted the fucking rent.

_There's no more milk left, _I thought. That was random. I should get some…go out…talk to people…no. I can't leave the house. No one would want to talk to me…Mimi would. If I ran into her, she would talk to me. I knew she would. I had to take that first step. _I have agoraphobia,_ I thought. My cousin has agoraphobia. I didn't like him. I thought he was so dull, such a wussy, because he was afraid of being outside. _I don't want to be him,_ I thought to myself. I don't want to be just another guy, afraid of his shadow. I ran to get my coat. Gosh damn it, I was going to go buy some damned milk. I stopped. Who the hell am I kidding? I can't go outside. It's so big, and there are so many people, and I could catch something. I can't go outside.

Yes, I can. I looked at my coat, then at the door, then back to my coat. I could do it. I could do it. Run, before you lose your nerve. I threw the coat on and walked out. Home run Roger, you mofo!'

_**MARK**_

"I'll see you at the show. I'll try to convince Roger to go," I said. Like that was going to happen. The boy hadn't left the house since April committed suicide. I swear, he as agoraphobia…agoraphobia on top of HIV. Jeez, he was one messed-up guy. But he was my best friend, and I had to take him the way he was, agoraphobia and all. I had to get home quickly though. I had to be back my Maureen's sound check. Her highness awaited…stupid Maureen and her stupid way of manipulating me and her stupid way of always cheating on me…and now leaving me…

I finally got home.

"Roger? Roger? I'm home," I said. He said nothing. Okay, where the hell is he? I went to the bathroom, but he wasn't there. "ROGER?!" I yelled. I was starting to get nervous. Please tell me nothing happened to him, I don't know how I'd take it if something happened. No answer. Okay, now I was officially freaked. I looked around for our phone. Who could I call? I could check with Collins, although I don't think he'd answer, from the look he'd been giving Angel. Crap. Crap. Crap. Oh shit, Roger…don't leave, not on Christmas Eve, please.

"Stupid milk, I forgot how cold it was," I heard someone grunt. I ran to the door. There was Roger.

"Roger! Where the fuck where you?!" I yelled. He gave me a pained look.

"I was at the store."

"Why?"

"We were out of milk."

"Why didn't you call me?" I asked him. At least he wasn't dead.

"Well daddy, I'm a big boy now. I can reach the top shelf and everything," he told me in a baby voice. Well, at least I knew he was okay.

"But you never leave the house," I persisted.

"The store's right across the street," he reminded me. Oh yeah. "Can we drop the subject now? This milk is fucking cold," he whined. I ran over and took it from him. I walked over to the kitchen area.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. He nodded. I looked through the cabinets.

"Why are you back so early?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to Maureen's show," I told him.

"No." I knew it. He sat on the counter.

"Please!" I whined.

"I went out to get milk, that's all the adventure I need for the day," he said.

"I guess. But you should get out of the apartment more. Angel seems really nice, and I can say for certain she is the most energetic person I have ever met," I told him. He nodded. "Come on. You can't spend the rest of your life hiding in this place," I told him.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No."

"Great…hey Mark?" he asked He seemed nervous, shy even.

"What's wrong?"

"I met someone," he said slowly, "but I pushed her away." Genius, Roger, just genius. I leaned in closer. "Her name is Mimi. She lives downstairs. She came up here a few hours ago and…I chased her out," he said in a rush. I stared at him.

"Mimi as in Mimi the dancer at the Cat Scratch Club?" I asked him. He nodded. I smacked him.

"You idiot! If she really liked you…you'd probably be the luckiest son of a bitch alive!" I yelled at him. He smiled sadly. "So tell me exactly what happened. I _think_ Angel knows her so you might get to see her again," I told him. He shook his head.

"I was mean," he said.

"Even if she won't come back I need all the details. I have to live through you since I don't have Maureen anymore," I told him. He started laughing. I smacked him again. "It's not funny!" I yelled. He laughed one more time, then stopped.

"Okay, so after you left to go help Maureen, she knocked on the door. So I went over and," he started. I moved some crap off the couch and sat down. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

* * *

I felt really confused. "She said 'would you light my candle?' Then she put on a pout and she wanted you to take her out tonight!" I said. I think I get it.

"Right."

"She got you out," I said.

"She was more than okay but I pushed her away. It was bad, I got mad and I had to get her out of my sight," he said sadly.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, "you said she was sweet!" Why would he chase her out.

"Let's go eat. I'll just get fat. It's the one vice left when you're dead meat," he said pathetically. We started walking. I wonder what Maureen's doing. I wonder if she's with Joanne. I hope not, although Joanne seems cool.

"There, that's her!" Roger called.

"Maureen?" I asked. Is she here!?

"MIMI!" he yelled.

"Whoa," I said. She was hot.

"I should go," he said. He was chickening out. Not a good sign. I felt something hit my face. Oh look, snow.

"Hey, it's beginning to snow," we both said. We walked around, looking about, but I could see Roger sneaking peeks at Mimi. I pushed him over to her.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I just want to say," he started nervously, "I'm sorry for the way-"

"Forget it," she cut him off. Ooh, treated!

"-I blew up. Can I make it up to you?" he asked.

"How?"

"Dinner party?"

"That'll do," she said quickly. They smiled at each other. I looked over and saw "the man." Oh shit, that was Roger's drug dealer. Go away!

"Hey, Lover boy, Cutie pie, you steal my client, you die," he said. Roger stood firm.

"You didn't miss me, you won't miss her, you'll never lack for customer," Roger yelled. He pulled Mimi away. I could kiss you Roger! I love you right now!

"Mark, this is Mimi," Roger introduced.

"Hi," we both said.

"She'll be dining with us," he said proudly. I smiled. I held up my camera to record the snow. Mimi stepped in front of it and started to make faces. She seems really nice. Roger's kinda…standoffish. I didn't think it would last long. Not at that moment anyway.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

* * *

So what do you think? I might post a second chapter about the three of them, probably Mimi getting on Mark's nerves, but only if you want me to. So...review? I love you!!!!!


	2. We Just Went To Get Rice Krispies, Mark!

* * *

I Just Went To Get Milk, Mark! Chapter 2

We Just Went To Get Rice Krispies, Mark!

Summary: You and Mimi have been spending a lot of time with each other. I get it, I mean, the girl almost died for pities' sake. But come on, I knew him first! I should get first dibs!

Note: I'm sorry it took so long. My excuse is I suck at math and am currently getting a C. So I've been working my boo-tay off to work it up. For those of you who don't care (If i were you, I'd be one of them, so I don't blame you) I really have no other excuse besides I didn't feel like it. I'm sorry. I'll stop talking. Just go read.

* * *

"Roger, we're out of milk!" Collins called.

"So?"

"So Mimi and I are the only ones who drink the milk and since I know I didn't have the last cup, you need to go get some since she's your girlfriend!" Collins countered. Roger just looked at him.

"I drink milk!" I yelled.

"Yeah, that crappy water stuff," Collins pointed out.

"I'll get some later," he said. Collins nodded.

"You better or I'm going to have to body-slam you," Collins threatened. "Speaking of Mimi, where the hell is she?" he asked.

"At school," Roger said. He flipped through the channels. "Hey look, we get more than one channel today!" Roger yelled happily. He turned onto MeTV. For some strange reason that I couldn't place, he liked the Brady Bunch. Of course we all watched the Twilight Zone. We'd put the volume low and make up our own story.

"What's her major?" Collins asked. He'd taken it as his personal responsibility to make sure Mimi was all right, seeming as An…Angel wasn't around to do it.

"American history," Roger answered. "She wants to be a history teacher for some reason," Roger said.

"Ooh, a teacher! Maybe she can teach at NYU with me," Collins mused aloud.

"Oh, you're back at NYU?" I asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, a few students complained when I quit. Oddly enough, the complaints were anonymous," he said, staring at Roger and I. I blushed and Roger smiled. We may have had something to do with that… "So they give the job back."

"Well, we're very proud of you," I said. Collins shrugged.

"GUYS!" a voice yelled. "I lost my key, let me in!" of course, Maureen.

"Why should we let you in girl? That's the fifth key we've given you this month, and it's only the sixth," Collins yelled through the door.

"I've got a key," another voice yelled. Joanne.

"I don't care who gets us in, but I'm fucking freezing!" yet another voice called. Definitely Mimi. Only she could swear in every sentence. If not more than once in the sentence.

"Hold yer horses!" Maureen yelled. I heard a yelp, a "Pookie! That wasn't nice," a "Life isn't nice. Obviously," another shriek, and thump and then the door opened to reveal the three girls, all looking like they were in pain. Mimi was holding her bag like a shield.

"Maureen? What did you do to the poor girl?" Collins asked, gesturing to Joanne whose hair was sticking up in random places. Maureen smiled evilly and Joanne shivered, brushing past Maureen. Mimi ran in and jumped into Roger's lap. Roger held her protectively, giving Maureen a look. Maureen stuck her tongue out at him. I sat down on one of the stools. Maureen came over and made a move to sit in my lap. I got up quickly. Joanne sat down. Maureen bounced over and sat in her lap instead.

"How was school?" Joanne asked.

"Okay. I hate algebra. It's too fucking hard," she said miserably.

"I could help you with that. I love algebra," Joanne said happily. Mimi smiled back.

"We should get going Pookie. It's late," Maureen said.

"It is?"

"Yeah." Maureen raised her eyebrows. Oh, gross. I don't need to know when they do it!

"It is. Let's go Honey Bear," Joanne said, getting up and pulling Maureen away. EW! Come on Joanne, you're usually the nicer one!

"Oh wow," Mimi laughed.

"I gotta get going too. Papers to grade," he said.

"Oh come on, you know you're going to give all five of them big fat F's," Roger said.

"You never know," Collins said. We all gave him a look. "It's the principle of the thing." He smiled at walked out. It was just the three of us…alone…me…with Mimi and Roger…alone…shit.

"I'm going to Lanesha's," I announced. No, she's not my girlfriend.

"Ooh! You're girlfriend's place!" Mimi squealed. Okay, maybe she is my girlfriend.

"Bye." I left.

* * *

I came back about three hours later. Her brother was there. "Roger? Mimi?" I heard nothing. Don't panic. "ROGER? MIMI?" still nothing. Okay, panic! I raced to their room. Nothing. I went to the balcony and leaned over to look at Mimi's place. No lights. Nothing. Not even any noises. Okay, they're fine. They have to be. Roger's responsible. Kind of. Then again…oh my goodness they're probably dead!

"Roger? Where the fuck were you?!" I yelled.

"I still don't understand why you needed both kinds of Rice Krispies," a voice said.

"I like to mix them."

"Gross."

"I lived by myself for four years okay? I did what I wanted to do. And I wanted to mix my Rice Krispies," the second voice answered indignantly.

"Okay okay, mix your Rice Krispies!"

"Roger? Mimi?" I asked.

"Waz up?" Mimi yelled. I walked in and she grinned goofily at me. I tried to hide my panic. I grabbed Roger's arm and pulled him into the bathroom.

"Where the hell were you?"

"At the store. I've done that many times," he said slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Do we need to revisit Christmas Eve last year? You know the me being a big boy thing?" he said. I sighed.

"I just get nervous, okay?" I said. I was about to say something else when Mimi called Roger and he went to her. My blood boiled. I was talking here!!!!!!!!

"Mimi, what do you-"

"ROGER!" I yelled. I ran in and saw the two of them frozen. "You and Mimi have been spending a lot of time with each other. I get it, I mean, the girl almost died for pities' sake. But come on, I knew him first! I should get first dibs!" I yelled. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I went to the fridge to grab a beer. I usually didn't drink beer, but when the occasion calls…I took a swig. GROSS! THAT TASTES SOOOOOO BAD! Although I already feel a bit drunk.

"I'm sorry Mark. I didn't know you felt that way," Mimi said.

"You shoulda told me. I would've spent more time with you," Roger said.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have overreacted," I apologized.

"You know what we can do?" Mimi asked. Roger and I looked at her. "WE CAN MAKE ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES!" she squealed.

"No!" Roger yelled. I started laughing. Hard. Like, I can't breathe.

"Yes!" I laughed. Mimi started giggling and pulled out some almonds.

"I'll crack and crush the almonds, Mark can mix all the ingredients and Roger can shape the cookies," she giggled.

"NO!" Roger groaned.

"YES!"

* * *

For those of you who have read my Almond Crescent Cookies Are Magical story, you get the ending. For those of you who haven't the ending is much funnier if you read it (hint hint).  
So...thoughts?


	3. I Just Went To Get Twinkies, Roger!

I Just Got Some Milk, Mark!

Chapter 3: I Just Went To Get Some Twinkies, Roger!

Summary: He doesn't understand. He doesn't know why I do drugs, and I don't think he cares. Just because he stopped so easily, doesn't mean the rest of us can.

Note: For those of you who read NO DAY BUT TODAY the file got deleted so I have to re-write it. Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* * *

"Mimi?" Gwendolyn called. I turned to her.

"What's up?" I asked. She looked nervous. She always looked nervous. I guess she has a reason. Gwendolyn was probably the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. Which was good in any other job. But for this one…it was dangerous. One night, one guy went to far. He didn't rape her, because Angel and I walked in, but he got close. She'd been jumpy ever since.

I smiled at her, making sure it reached my eyes, trying to ease whatever she was feeling. Angel taught me that if you smile with your eyes, it would make even Papa Ge smile. If there was a Papa Ge…is there? Whatever. Back to Gwendolyn.

"Do you have some money?" she asked.

"Depends on how much you need. If it's over a twenty, then no. If it's less, then yeah, I got some," I said.

"How much do you have?" she asked.

"Twenty," I said. She giggled. Angel was right…again.

"I only need ten," she said.

"I'll give you a twenty," I went to my purse, and handed her my twenty. She shook her head, but I insisted. "Please," I said. She nodded, and took it.

"I should be going," she said. Gwendolyn walked off. I turned on my heel, and walked towards my apartment.

"In the evening, I've got roam. Can't sleep in a city of neon and chrome," I sang. I twirled. I caught a man dressed in black walking into the alley. That's a bit suspicious. I walked a few steps closer. I heard a voice that sounded very familiar. It sent a shiver down my spine. Who was…OH MY ASAKA! It's the Man's voice! I hid behind the wall in front of the alley.

"This doesn't look like two grams," Gwendolyn was saying.

"It is! Now where's my money? I've got other clients I need to serve," the Man snarled. I heard her snort.

"They can't pay as good as I can, though, can they? Here's your money," she said. Gwendolyn left. I grabbed her arm. She stared at me with wide eyes.

"That's why you needed my fucking money? So you could buy some fucking drugs? Gwendolyn!" I yelled.

"Mimi, listen. I need them!" she said.

"To hell you do!"

"I need them to cope."

"Cope with what?" I asked.

"I might get fired," she said. Whoa. Time out. Why?

"Why the hell would you get fired?"

"Jerry wants me to sleep with him. He says if I don't, he'll fire me," she explained. "I need this job Mimi. But I don't want to sleep with him."

"Gwendolyn…why didn't you come to me?" I asked.

"What could you do?"

"Find you another job so you wouldn't be reduced to this!" I yelled. She smiled coyly.

"You could come enjoy this with me," she said, waving them in my face. I froze. She did not just say that. Why would she?

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. I meant to sound firm, but that sounded pretty wimpy.

"Well, you'll have to buy some of course," she said. That's why. She needed the money. She'd do anything she could to get it. She was a junkie after all.

"Of course. For more than I would if I went to the Man, I'm guessing," I said.

"Yeah, but you'll get a nice, private place to shoot up in. Away from the prying eyes of your boyfriend," she said. Shit. My resolve was failing. Down, down, down.

"I love Roger," I said absentmindedly.

"Of course you do. Remember, I know why you take them. Why your sister really left," she said. It felt like I was being set on fire. Gwen had to bring that up. Those painful memories…

"Okay."

That one word shattered what Roger and I had been building for 5 ½ months.

* * *

I had waited for a few hours until I thought the high had worn off. I didn't take a lot, so Roger wouldn't notice. Or at least I thought so.

I walked in the door, trying to be quiet.

"Mimi?" Shit.

"Hey Roger. Is Mark asleep?" I asked.

"Yeah." I tiptoed to the couch and sat down, trying not to let him see my eyes in case they were still obvious…and trying not to swear so much. That was another thing we were working on. "Anything of interest happen at work?"

"Not really. Just the usual middle-aged, fat guys staring at us. Although I did see a girl…" I recalled.

"Middle-aged?"

"Teenage. So either she's thinking of working at the Cat Scratch or she's trying to figure out if she's bi or lesbian, so she's trying to see how she feels with us. Or she's with a bachelor party," I said.

"The first two I can understand, but bachelor party?" he asked laughingly.

"Yes. My mom went to a bachelor party because her best friend was a guy and was getting married and she was the best man," I said. I could feel him laughing silently. I giggled as well. He stopped abruptly. That was weird.

"Mimi? Are you okay?" Roger asked.

"Fine, why?"

"You don't giggle. I've only heard you giggle three times, each time when you were high," he said.

"I'm not high," I defended quickly. Too quickly.

"Of course you're not," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You know, it'd be nice if you fucking trusted me!" I said, getting up and walking to the fridge.

"I trust you when you're not on drugs," he pointed out.

"Ha-ha. I'm not high," I said. I took a swig of lemonade. I felt his arms wrap around my waist.

"Okay. I believe you," he said. He sounded sincere. I turned to look into his eyes. He backed away. "Now I don't. Have you seen your eyes Mimi?" he said. Shit.

"Roger look-"

"No. You promised, and you broke that promise. Again." He doesn't understand. He doesn't know why I do drugs, and I don't think he cares. Just because he stopped so easily, doesn't mean the rest of us can.

"Whatever. I'm getting the hell out of here."

"Fine. Go, see if I care," he said. I walked out the door. I needed some sugar. Hm…Twinkies! They sell some at the corner store.

* * *

Mm-mm. I love Twinkies. They are so tasty. I couldn't wait to eat them. I unlocked the door to my apartment.

"MIMI?" a voice called. Roger?

"Yeah?"

"Where have you been?" he walked into the front of my apartment.

"I just went to go get Twinkies, Roger," I said. "Relax."

"You've been gone forever!"

"Ten minutes. If that," I pointed out.

"Well…it felt like a long time."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"About a minute after you left," he said. I smiled. He was so sweet. I owed him an explanation.

"Did you ever wonder why I started? You know why I left home, about how the first time I tried to stop, but did you ever wonder why I started?" I asked. He looked at me.

"Yeah, but I figured you wouldn't want to talk about it," he said. I looked at the ground.

"I had a baby," I mumbled. It was quiet for a while. I looked up to find Roger staring at me. I didn't think he believed me.

"I don't believe you." Told you.

"I did. With my sister's boyfriend. He left when he found out, the stupid deadbeat. After I had the baby I found out I was HIV positive. He probably gave it to me," I said.

"Where's the kid now?" Roger asked.

"Dead. I had a miscarriage," I said bluntly. I blinked back my tears. "My sister didn't give a crap. She'd started using after her boyfriend left so I started when I saw her, after the miscarriage. I just didn't…" I took a deep breath. Don't cry. Don't cry. "…want to feel sad anymore. I…I miss my baby." That did it. I started sobbing. I sunk to the floor, trying to stop.

Big, strong, warm arms encased me. Roger's hands stroked my hair. I stopped sobbing enough to look at him.

"You should have told me. I could've helped you," he said.

"How? You can't bring my baby back," I muttered.

"I would've figured something out." He pulled back and looked into my eyes. I stared back into his. "Quick question: where did you get the drugs from?" he asked.

"Gwendolyn."

"Why?" I explained her dilemma to him. He smiled.

"Collins told me they have some openings at the cafeteria at NYU. She could work there. It pays better than the Cat Scratch," he said. I leaned into him.

"That's perfect. Thanks," I said. He kissed the top of my head.

"We _will_ get through this. I promise," Roger said.

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

That was all I needed for a million years.

* * *

Like it, love it? What? This will probably be the last chapter, so don't expect anything. Sorry.


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